


Invisible Ink

by down_into_underland, epsilonAbsol



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: M/M, crack ship, give them a chance, please join us, they're cute I swear
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-10
Updated: 2016-04-09
Packaged: 2018-05-19 11:15:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,085
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5965249
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/down_into_underland/pseuds/down_into_underland, https://archiveofourown.org/users/epsilonAbsol/pseuds/epsilonAbsol
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Nathanel discovers new feelings for the boy in the classroom next door. What's his name? What's he like? And what could come from befriending this new love interest of his?</p><p>DISCONTINUED</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Ok so, here’s the thing. My friend, dicaxasinus (on tumblr) and I have this ship. It’s a crack ship. And we’ve both become extremely invested and obsessed with this crack ship and we hope that many of you will join us. It’s a great time and life is great. Our crack ship is Nathanael x Justin Extra. If you don’t know who that is search his name in the tumblr tags thing. He’s basically a reappearing extra that is attractive, so there. Hope you’re willing to give this a chance and join us in hell!

            Nathanael’s head, along with many others’, shot up at the sound of shouting from across the room. Nathanael had been doodling mindlessly on a bench directly outside the entrance to his school when he heard the pained shout from inside the school. He peered inside through the now open school doors to see a heated argument between a girl and boy from the class next to his own. Now, Nathanael didn’t usually like to listen into people’s conversation, but he couldn’t help but listen intently to the loud argument.

            “How could you lie to me like that?! Did you ever even care about me in the first place?” It was the girl who was yelling now.

            “Me?! Don’t try and turn this on me! I saw you! You can’t try and blow this off, I know you cheated on me! And with my best friend too!” Nathanael could see the boy’s face getting red with anger now.

            _Wow, this is like something right out of a soap opera._ Nathanael thought as he took in the girl who looked to be crying. Though, he wasn’t entirely sure if those tears were real.

            “What was I supposed to do?! I knew you didn’t care about me anymore, so I had to go somewhere else for love!” The girl pushed at the boy’s chest and he stood strong. Nathanael saw the boy take a deep breath and take a step away from the girl.

            “I did still care about you, and I still do. You were the one who lied to me with my best friend. If you didn’t want to be with me, you should’ve just told me instead of leading me on. I thought you love me, and I thought I loved you too. But it looks like I was wrong about all of that. We’re done, goodbye.” The boy walked away with tears in his eyes and the girl was left there angry and humiliated. The boy walked hurriedly with his head down, and as he passed Nathanael he happened to knock over the sketchbook lying in Nathanael’s lap.

            “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry. I wasn’t paying attention.” The boy looked down frantic and picked up the sketchbook. He handed it to Nathanael as he tried to erase the evidence of his tears away.

            _Wow. His face is gorgeous._ Nathanael blushed at his sudden thoughts as he wordlessly accepted his sketchbook back.

            “N-No, it’s ok…” Nathanael wanted to say more, but he couldn’t bring himself to say anymore. The boy waved and gave a short goodbye. As he ran off Nathanael made it a point to remember that adorable face that he just encountered. He also needed to do some investigating and find out who exactly this boy was.

            It was one long, strenuous week before Nathanael finally worked up the courage to find out the boy’s name. He had been drawing the boy’s face from memory for the past week and not only did he need to get a better look at him to draw him better, but he needed to put a name to that face. Though, his plan to find out his name was a little flawed.

            Nathanael had thought to ask Aurore what the pretty boy’s name was, but then decided that was a bad idea. Not only was Aurore a little scary, but she was also big on gossip. She couldn’t keep a secret for her life, so asking her for this information would probably end badly.

            His next idea was to perhaps ask one of his friends in his own class if they knew the boy’s name. The only problem with that was that he wasn’t sure if he trusted anyone enough in his class. Now, Nathanael knew that it was kind of sad to think that way, but it was the truth. Sure he was friends some of the kids in his class, but he usually kept to himself most of the time. It wasn’t like he had a best friend to turn to for help with this kind of stuff. Plus, he wasn’t sure how some of his classmates would take it if they found out he liked another guy.

            So poor Nathanael decided on his third and final option. The third option was to simply stand outside the door of the classroom next to his own, and wait. Wait for what exactly? He wasn’t sure exactly, but he figured if he sat out here long enough he would maybe get to hear the teacher take role or something. Then, he could maybe figure out which one was the boy who had run into him. Yes, he knew it was a little creepy to stand outside a door eavesdropping. Yes, he knew there were probably a million other easier ways to find out one kid’s name. But Nathanael had already resolved to sit here and wait. He just hoped no one caught him.

            “Hey Nathanael! What are you doing standing out here by yourself?” Nathanael jumped and had to hold down a yelp of surprise. He spun around to see that it was Alya and Nino standing beside him.

            “Oh, um…” Nathanael’s face grew red with embarrassment. He really didn’t want to explain why he was creepily listening in on another class before his own class even started.

            “Is something happening in the other class? Is that why you’re standing out here?” Nino was smiling and tried to peer into the other classroom. Nathanael quickly stopped him; he didn’t want to draw attention to the three of them standing out here.

            “Uh, no…it’s actually kind of embarrassing…I was hoping no one would see me here…” Nathanael hung his head down. He felt Alya clap a hand on his shoulder and jumped a little in shock.

            “Hey, no need to be embarrassed! If there’s something we can help you with, we’d be glad to help.” Alya smiled big and Nino nodded in agreement beside her.

            “Yeah, what’s up, Nathanael?” Nathanael began to weigh his options. He had thought of asking some classmate, and now Alya and Nino were offering to help. It would also be a lot easier and would probably end a lot better too if he just told them…

            “Ok…I guess I’ll tell you. But you can’t tell anyone, ok? It would be really embarrassing if anyone else found out…”

            “No worries! We can keep a secret for you, Nathanael.” Alya leaned in close, probably excited to here Nathanael’s secret.

            “Ok…well, there’s a boy in this class. I heard him and his girlfriend fight and break up last week and then he ran into me. He…He had a really…picturesque face and I’ve been drawing it a lot recently. But I feel bad for not even knowing his name.” Nathanael did his best to explain his situation without sound like a complete lovesick dork. However, the knowing smirk on both Alya and Nino’s faces told him they both knew there was something more to his story.

            “Oh~? You’ve been drawing him a lot, huh? Any reason that you found his face so, ‘picturesque’?” Alya’s eyebrows wiggled and she leaned in close to Nathanael’s now bright red face.

            “Come on, Alya. Don’t tease him. Maybe it’s just an artist thing. Anyway, I think I know the guy you’re talking about, but I don’t know his name. He’s the guy in charge of writing for the school newspaper.” Nino pulled Alya away from the blushing boy and Nathanael could finally breath again. At least he got some information. The boy wrote for the school paper, maybe he should actually start reading the school paper…

            “Oh, wait! I know the boy you’re talking about! His name is Justin, and yeah he just had a messy breakup with his girlfriend. He lost his best friend in the process too. I’m sure he could use a new friend~” Alya teased and smiled as Nino sighed and pulled her away. Nathanael was a little embarrassed, but he was unbelievably happy as well. He had finally gotten a name!

            Justin was his name…and Nathanael thought maybe Alya was right. Maybe Justin could use a new friend.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Come along with Nathanael on his adventure to finally find out the cute boy's name from the class next door.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long! I'm currently posting this from school because I've been so busy! Enjoy and tell all your friends!

            _Why is talking to people so difficult? Why was I born to be such a shy and awkward kid? Why me?_

            These were questions that Nathanael had found himself asking himself often over the past few days. He had been trying for almost an entire school week to work up the courage to just say “Hi” to Justin. Unfortunately, he seemed to fail at every chance he got. If the two of them ever passes each other in the hall, Justin always seemed either preoccupied or was talking to someone else. Nathanael was just too shy to interrupt. If Nathanael happened to see Justin sitting by himself somewhere, usually writing in a journal, he was too awkward to just walk over and talk to him. After all, talking to someone for the first time can be very scary. Nathanael had managed to see Justin at the park with two kids he assumed were the boy’s siblings. But instead of going over and talking to Justin, Nathanael decided to watch him run around and play with the two small children from behind a nearby tree. And no, he wasn’t being creepy. He was simply observing from afar so he could get accurate ideas and images for later drawings.

            Alya and Nino had both offered to help Nathanael, even though neither of them really knew Justin all that well. Alya sometimes submitted photos to the school newspaper and knew Justin from there. Though even then she had only talked to him a couple of times and barely knew the kid. She still offered to help though. Nathanael however turned down any offers for help. He wanted to do this on his own. He was going to have to start working on his courage sometime or later, so now was a good a time as any.

            Nathanael was now sitting on a bench at the park near their school. A little way away, Justin was once again writing in a small black journal with white swirls on it. Justin had a small smile place on his lips and seemed to laugh to himself at something he wrote. Nathanael found himself smiling to himself as well. He was sure whatever Justin wrote, it was probably great. After all, the boy was constantly writing, he had to be good. Why else would he get put in charge of the school newspaper?

            Nathanael was going over the many plans floating around in his head of how to approach the boy writing in front of him, when he saw a group of older kids walking towards Justin. Justin had been sitting at the base of the Ladybug and Chat Noir statue when the group of teens walked almost right into him. Justin tumbled over and his journal and pen went skidding way. Nathanael heard the kid who had bumped directly into Justin mumble a brisk apology before walking away without a care in the world. People like that pissed Nathanael off to no end. How could they be so rude to a kid they just kicked like he was a piece of litter? Nathanael got up and started walking over to Justin who just sighed to himself.

            Justin picked up his nearby journal and looked around for his pen. Nathanael noticed the pen underneath a nearby shrub and picked it up. This was perfect for Nathanael; it was the perfect chance for him to talk to him! As Justin stood up Nathanael walked over to him and held out the pen in his hand.

            “Um, I think this is yours right? Those kids kicked it all the way over there.” Nathanael tilted his head over to where he had found the pen as Justin took the pen back.

            “Thanks! I was wondering where it had gotten to.” Justin smiled brightly and Nathanael found his face heating up slightly.

            “Yeah, well those kids were jerks. They just walked right into you like you weren’t even there! People like that are just terrible…” As he spoke, Nathanael found his voice raising as he got more heated, but it soon got quiet again when he realized the volume of his voice.

            “No, it really wasn’t that big of a deal. Stuff like that happens often. Most people seem to not even realize I’m here. I’m kind of invisible, you know? Not that I mind; people annoy you less when they don’t realize you’re there.” Justin explained all of this with a smile permanently painted on his face. Nathanael’s heart was sad at this information. Because really, Nathanael couldn’t believe anyone could just look over someone like Justin.

            “Still...people shouldn’t just ignore you. I mean, you’re not just a nobody. You write the school paper and everything right?”

            “Wow! You actually recognize me from that? Most students don’t even read the school paper let alone care that I write the majority of it. Hey, I just remembered! You’re Nathanael right? You’re the kid from the class next door that draws really cool comics?”

            _Oh my god, he knows who I am? He knows I like to draw? And he thinks my comics are really cool? This is amazing I can’t believe it!_

            “Um, y-yeah. That’s me, uh, how’d you know about my comics?” Nathanael’s face grew red with blush again as he spoke. Justin smiled again and his whole body just screamed excitement.

            _He’s like an excited kitten...it’s cute._

            “Oh! Your classmate, Marinette told me about them and showed me some pictures! I asked if Marinette could draw some comics for the school paper since I always see her sketching, but she told me if I wanted comics I should ask you!” Nathanael’s heart ached a little bit at the mention of the sweet girl in his class. Nathanael still had some feelings left for Marinette, but he knew it was hopeless.

            “I didn’t know you were friends with Marinette.”

            “Oh, well, I’m not really that close with her. I mean, I used to have a crush on her but I don’t think she really understood that. Although, she did end up introducing me to my ex-girlfriend…” Justin’s seemingly immovable smile faltered a bit as his tone became somber. So that was it, Justin too was a victim of having his heart broken by Marinette. Not that Nathanael would ever blame Marinette for not recuperating their feelings.

            “Really? You had a crush on Marinette too?”

            “You too? Man, what are the odds of that! Hey, maybe we could hang out after school sometime and work on making a comic for the paper! Plus, we could always bond over Marinette.” Justin teased and nudged at Nathanael’s shoulder.

            “Um, yeah that sounds great…”

            “Awesome! I gotta go pick up my siblings from a friend’s house, but I’ll talk to you at school, kay? See you later, Nathanael!” Justin ran off, waving excitedly and Nathanael quietly waved back. Nathanael’s stomach was bubbly and he didn’t really feel like figuring out why he felt this way. Though, he knew the reason deep down. Instead however, he decided to contently head home and start sketching ideas for a new comic series. 

 


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nathanael spends the day bonding with Justin and meeting his family.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for this being so late! I've had this chapter like half written for weeks but I've finally gotten time to finish it!

I was sitting quietly humming to myself as I sketched in my room when my phone vibrated on the night stand next to the bed. I set me sketchbook and pencil down to check my phone.       

_ One unread text message from: Justin <3 _

Yes, I have a heart next to Justin’s name in my phone. I don’t know what compelled me to put it there, but I did. And I hadn’t really gotten around to changing it. I unlocked my phone and checked to see what the message said.

_ Hey! I know we were supposed to work on some stuff for the comic together this afternoon, but I have to babysit my two younger siblings. If you want, you can come over here to work on it. Idk how you feel about kids though. They’re good kids really but sometimes they can be a little wild. Anyway text me if you want to come and I’ll send you my address! _

I’ve noticed that Justin tend to ramble on whenever he texts. He also is strict with his grammar even in texts. But I guess that’s what comes with him being such a serious writer.

Wait a minute. Justin was inviting me over to his house. I actually get the chance to go over and see his house! And meet his family! Well, not all of his family, but at least I would meet his siblings. He talked about them a lot. Although, I don’t really like kids all that much. I never know what to say or do around them. They’re usually way to touchy feely and sticky which is just gross. But, was it worth it to hang out with Justin at his house for the day? Yes, yes it was. So, I sent a quick text back to Justin.

_ Sure, I don’t mind coming over to your house today. And I don’t mind kids either _

That last part was a lie on my part, but he doesn’t need to know that. A reply text came almost immediately.

_Great! We can still meet at the same time! My brother and sister are both excited to meet you!..._ The text message went on for a while rambling off again about Justin’s siblings and what they needed to go over with their comic today. The end of the text message had Justin’s address and about a hundred different smiley face emojis. His excitement was adorable. I looked over to the clock beside me. I still had more than an hour to shower and head over there. But seeing as I like to take super long showers, I decided to get in now so I wouldn’t be late.

I was more than a bit nervous and anxious standing in front of Justin’s front door. I took a deep breath and raised my hand to knock on the door when the door burst open and nearly hit me in the face. As I stepped back away from the door I was knocked onto my butt by a mass of fur barking loudly.

“Jacqui! Get off of him right now!” The large old English sheep dog laying on top of my happily trotted off back to the voice that had called for her. I looked up, face red from shock and embarrassment, to see Justin standing over me shaking his head at the dog.

“Hugo! Keep Jacqui inside and make sure she behaves! Sophie, please stop opening the door for her so she can jump on people!” I heard giggling from inside before Justin held out a hand to help me up. I blushed more as I took his hand and stood back up.

“Sorry about that Nathanael, my brother and sister are kind of wild right now. But I promise they’re not too bad!” Justin excitedly pulled me into his home, not yet letting go of my hand. I smiled softly as he blathered on about all the crazy things his siblings had done this day since his parents left. Out of the corner of my eye I saw a flash of blonde zoom past me and latch on to Justin’s leg.

“Justin! Why’d you stop playing with us?” I looked down to who I assumed was Justin’s little sister. What had he said her name was again?

“Sophie, are told you my friend was coming over and I wouldn’t be able to play with you. Play with Hugo, ok?” The little girl pouted at her big brother before spinning to look at me. She stomped over to me and stood in front of me with her hands on her hips.

“Who are you?” I squatted down to be at this small child’s level.

“My name’s Nathanael. I’m a friend of Justin’s. And you are?”

“I’m Princess Sophie! And you’re not allowed in my kingdom until I say so!” Sophie crossed her arms and I looked up to Justin who looked at me apologetically.

“Sophie…please be nice…”

“Well then, Princess Sophie, what must I do to be allowed in this prestigious kingdom of yours?” I put on a bright smile for the little girl in front of me, and that seemed to shock her. She recovered from her shock and then put on a bright smile.

“Piggy back!” She held her arms out and with a sigh I pulled her onto my back and began to run around wherever she directed me. I noticed Justin smiling brightly at the two of us and it made me extremely happy.

When I finally got tired, I dropped Sophie on the couch and sat next to her. Justin came and sat with us as well.

“You’re allowed to stay in my kingdom! You’re so much more fun than Étienne! He would just always ignore me and never wanted to play.” Sophie talked from in between Justin and I. I saw Justin stiffen up noticeably and his mood became sullen.

“Étienne?” I asked softly, looking over to Justin.

“My old friend. He’s um, well I don’t really talk to him anymore. I’ll tell you about it later.” Justin explained motioning to Sophie. He clearly didn’t want to talk about it in front of her. Just then, a boy with a mop of curly red hair came running in with the large dog that attacked me earlier as well as two cats skipping along behind them.

“Étienne was mean! He didn’t like Jacqui!” The boy said sitting on the ground in front of us with the three animals surrounding him.

“Well, Hugo, maybe that’s because every time he came over, you made Jacqui attack him.” The boy, Hugo, and Sophie both laughed and I smiled. I figured out for myself that the dog was name Jacqui, and was soon told by Hugo that the two cats were named Princess and Pork Chop. The names were definitely a shock to me. Justin explained to me that he naturally Sophie had named their first cat Princess. However, Princess was a very scruffy looking multicolored cat with an overbite. It definitely made me laugh. Hugo had named the other cat, a sleek white cat, Pork Chop because at the time pork chops were his favorite food.

We all sat talking for some time, though it mainly consisted of Hugo and Sophie telling me stories about their lives and interrogating me. However, at one point things took a rather embarrassing turn.

“Hey, Mr. Nathanael?” Sophie asked from the spot where she had now seated herself in my lap.

“Yeah?”

“Are you Justin’s boyfriend?” Her face and question were completely innocent, but my face exploded with red instantly.

“Yeah, are you? Justin talks about you way more than he talked about Étienne or Penelope, and you’re way more fun.” Hugo chimed in as well and Justin suddenly stood up quickly.

“Ok! Nathanael and I need to go up and get to work now, don’t make a mess down here, ok?” Justin lifted Sophie out of my lap and set her aside and quickly pulled me upstairs despite the kids protests. He pulled me into his room and quickly closed the door behind us.

“Um, sorry about that. You know how kids can be, right?” Justin’s face was almost as red as mine.

“Uh, yeah. Kids can be weird…” We sat in awkward silence for a bit before Justin moved to sit on his bed and patted the spot next to him. I quietly sat down next to him.

“So, um, who’s Étienne? Or should I not ask?” I questioned quietly trying to break the awkward silence that had been created.

“Oh, right. Étienne used to be my best friend before my ex-girlfriend cheated on me with him. So, clearly we don’t really get along anymore.” Justin explained sadly.

“I’m sorry about that. You deserve better friends.”

“I do have better friends now; you!” Justin smiled goofily and I swear more heart exploded. God damn it did he have to be so cute? Seriously this boy was going to be the death of me.

We spent the next few hours talking about all the things we did in our spare time while working on the comic Justin wanted for the school paper. I really did enjoy talking with Justin; it was different than talking with any of my other friends. Sure I liked talking with the other kids in my class, but I never really connected like this with anyone else. I’m not sure what it was about Justin’s personality that seemed to just…click, with mine I guess you could say. I don’t think my smile ever left my face the entire time I was there sitting in Justin’s room.

After spending some time with Justin, I heard the sound of tiny feet thumping up the stairs and towards Justin’s room. There was a knock on the door and Justin and I both looked towards the door as Sophie poked her head in.

“Justin, your show is coming on downstairs!”

“Oh right! Thanks Sophie, I’ll be down in a second. Ok?” The little girl smiled brightly and nodded before heading back downstairs. I turned to Justin questioningly who scratched the back of his head nervously.

“So, every afternoon I like to watch Chopped with my siblings because I have this kind of embarrassing obsession with Food Network.” Justin explained. I smiled softly because his embarrassment was so cute.

“It’s not embarrassing just because you like to watch it. I don’t mind watching it with you guys either.”

“Really?! Thanks, Nathanael you’re the best! Let’s go down so Hugo and Sophie don’t get impatient.” Justin got up and started walking downstairs excitedly.

“I’m pretty sure you want to hurry more because you don’t want to miss any of it, not because of your siblings.” I teased Justin a bit and he turned around to smile brightly at me as we went down the stairs. I smiled back as I smiled closely behind him.

As we came into their living room Sophie and Hugo already had the TV on and were sitting on the couch waiting for their big brother. Justin sat on one side of the couch with Hugo and Sophie both to his left. Their couch wasn’t too big so I had to squeeze in between Justin and the arm of the couch. I was practically sitting in Justin’s lap. Not that I hated it but it was a bit squished, but Justin didn’t seem to notice or mind.

We watched the Chopped episode that happened to be on, which was pretty good, but what was really important that happened was what we saw on a commercial. It was a commercial for some sort of world champion chef contest that was being held here in Paris this week. What was shocking in the preview for tonight’s live episode was the fact that there in the preview was Marinette and an older Chinese man that was going to be competing in the competition.

“Hey look! It’s Marinette!” I pointed out to Justin who had gotten up to get something to drink in the kitchen.

“What?!” He came running back in and looked at the TV, “Oh my god, I love this show! And Marinette is on it? Nathanael, we have to go see the shooting it live! If Marinette is there, maybe we could get in to watch them film it! Come on!” Justin was already getting his shoes on and I saw Sophie and Hugo look at me confused.

“Um, Justin? What about Sophie and Hugo?” I asked slipping my shoes on as well. Justin stopped in his tracks and thought for a second.

“Ok, how about I drop the two of you off next door? Mrs. Bellerose should be home by now. Is that ok?” Justin asked as he got the kid’s shoes for them.

“Yay! Mrs. Bellerose always lets us eat sweets even if it’s before dinner!” Hugo explained to me as Sophie and him got their shoes on. Once we were all ready, Justin and I went over and dropped the kids off next door and then we were off to visit Marinette.


	4. Final Farewell

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I took artistic liberties with the names lol. Enjoy the finale!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Alright y'all, its epsilonabsol here, the co-author. Unfortunately, down-into-underland and I have both sort of fallen out of love with Miraculous Ladybug, so we're discontinuing this fanfic. Justin/Nathanael is still the best ship though, and I already wrote the akuma chapter for Justin, so I'm going to post it as a final farewell to you guys. Enjoy!

_ How could she do this? _

When he found the notebook on his desk, he knew something was wrong. He would never forget where he left it, and he  _ knew _ that he’d left it in his locker.

_ Hasn’t she broken my heart enough? _

He’d opened it to the first page, ignoring the bookmark, and in bold black ink:  **WHY’S IT ALL INVISIBLE, HUH? INSECURE?**

_ She’s the only one who knew it was invisible and not just blank she just covered all of that page it’s all gone now gone gone gone. _

Because he loved to torment himself, he continued turning pages. “ **IT’S NEVER GOING TO GET YOU NOTICED, YOU KNOW.** ” “ **WRITE YOUR HEART OUT, IT’S NOT ENOUGH.** ” “ **HONESTLY, KEEP IT INVISIBLE, SAVE THE EYES OF THE PUBLIC.** ”

_ It’s on every page she ruined all of it I’ll never remember everything I wrote there why is she doing this? _

His already cracked world shattered when he found his bookmark -- a photo booth strip of he and Penelope when she still loved him --

_ Did she ever really love me was it all just fake maybe everyone’s just pretending to care -- _

He was gone. She blacked out every picture, but only where his face was. She was still there, smiling without a care in the world, next to a black marker scribble where his face should be.

He was stunned, staring in horror at the bookmark as it blurred, when a voice suddenly filled the silence in his mind.  _ “Invisible Ink, my name is Hawkmoth. Aren’t you tired of being overlooked by your peers? Of your writing being ignored? I can help you show them all the real power of your words, but I’ll need some things from you in return. What do you say?” _

There was no need to think, just respond. “I’ll give you whatever you need.”

Within seconds, Justin was covered in black and white camouflage, his notebook now covered in stripes instead of its usual swirls.

_ Where to begin this story? Revenge? Unrequited love? Maybe with some name dropping. _

Invisible Ink left the classroom, writing names into his notebook as he passed other students in the hallway. _Aurore Beauréal becomes frozen in place._ _Mylène Haprèle finds herself lost in a void that only she can see._ _Chloé Bourgeois is forgotten, even by her best friends._

As his pen wrote the period on each sentence, they became reality. Aurore stopped midsentence, while her confused friends tried to snap her out of it. Mylène clung to Ivan, panicking and rambling about darkness. Sabrina suddenly remembered that she had homework to do, and wondered why she was still at school, leaving Chloé in shock that Sabrina just  _ left _ . None of them noticed Invisible Ink as he walked calmly out of the school and to his favorite writing spot.

It wasn’t far at all, only a short walk across a couple streets, to the statue of Ladybug and Chat Noir. He supposed that there was some sort of irony that he was going to be doing all of this right under their noses, even if they were bronze statues and not the real heroes.

He sat at the foot of the statue, hidden both by its shadow and by his own camouflage cloak, and began writing ever more detailed plans, righting wrongs that he’d never had the means to before.

_ Theo Barbeau, he thinks that writing isn’t an art? Fine. Let him love his own art.  _ _ Theo Barbeau sculpts the most realistic and beautiful statue of the century, only to fall in love with his creation. This new Pygmalion will have no Aphrodite to make his love real, and he will forever find only stone. _

As Invisible Ink tried to think of more to write, he was distracted by excited shouting, “Yes, my feathered friends, I have returned! I have some more birdseed for you!” It was accompanied by the sound of a bird whistle and many pigeons’ wings.

He couldn’t stand the noise. How could he be expected to focus with that  _ cacophony _ right next to him? No. It needed to be silenced  _ immediately. _ He turned back to his notebook.

_ Xavier Ramier trades his voice for wings in order to join the pigeons in the skies of Paris. He may be able to fly with them, but he will not understand them, and they will not understand him. He will not be content among them for long. _

Before his eyes, and before the eyes of a few people in the park, the man stopped his shouting, with only a confused look on his face. He had already spilled the birdseed on the ground, and the pigeons didn’t seem to notice much of a change, but to the humans, the change was obvious. First the man began sprouting feathers, then he began shrinking, and even as he shrank his face showed nothing but confused pain as his body shifted into that of a bird.

Many of the witnesses pulled out their phones and began calling the police, but what did Invisible Ink care? They were all staring at the man-bird, who had just begun flying away. They hadn’t noticed him in the slightest.

_ Now that it’s quiet again, who was next… Right. Marinette Dupain-Cheng, who sets people up with filthy cheaters.  _ _ Marinette Dupain-Cheng becomes cursed to be a frog, awaiting the kiss of her true love, _

He was again interrupted before his sentence was finished. This time by the sound of a familiar laugh that felt exactly the same way as a knife in his back would when a free-fall dropped.

He looked up to see Penelope and Étienne, laughing together at some joke that only they knew. For all he knew, they could have been laughing at him, and how stupid he’d been for not realizing that she’d been stringing him along.

_ They won’t be laughing for much longer.  _ _ Étienne Amoretto and Penelope Montagne decide to dance in celebration of their love, and become lost in each other, and dance as though on hot coals for all time. They will become laughing stocks, and all of Paris will see them and ridicule them. They will only stop when _

And there was yet another distraction. A darker shadow than the one cast by the statue came over him, and he looked up from his notebook yet again. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Étienne and Penelope begin to dance, but at the forefront of his attention was Nathanael. A distraction, yes, but his revenge was already being enacted. Penelope was getting what had been a long time coming, and Étienne was getting it too. There were still a few people that Invisible Ink wanted to write about, like members of the school board who wanted to get rid of the school newspaper in favor of expanding the school blog, but he didn’t want to write anything happening to Nathanael.

“What are you doing?” Nathanael asked, sitting before him. Invisible Ink felt a sort of familiarity with this situation -- Nathanael talking to him while he was sitting at the base of the statue. It was how they’d first met, right?

_ Not important. _ “I’m taking a stand for myself. People always walk all over me and expect me to forget, but I don’t. They just forget about me and what they’ve done, leaving them with a clean conscience.” The words left him with a bitter glare at the dancing couple behind Nathanael, and he turned to glance at them as well before looking back at Invisible Ink.

“But Justin, if you’re going to be doing things like that, doesn’t that make you just as bad as they are? Why are you sinking to their level?”

“I’m  _ not  _ Justin!” Invisible Ink snapped, startling both Nathanael and himself. He wasn’t going to hurt him, honest! He just… needed to make it clear, that was all. “And I’m nowhere  _ near _ their level. Look at them! They’re in love, laughing at the poor saps that they’re dragging through the dirt,” he muttered bitterly.

“They look like they’re in pain and scared.”

“So what?”

“I’m pretty sure that’s pretty close to ‘on their level.’ Especially since you just said ‘so what’ in response.”

“Nathanael, I’m sorry, but I can’t be bothered to care about people who lie to me and then continue to torment me after I confront them.” Invisible Ink thought he heard a quiet, ‘when did they..?’ but decided to ignore it. He’d had his distraction, he needed to get back to writing. _ Now _ .

But of course, the universe had other plans. It was at that moment that Ladybug and Chat Noir -- the real thing, this time -- arrived. In any other circumstance, Justin would have noticed that Chat Noir appeared to be on cloud nine, but this wasn’t Justin. This was Invisible Ink, and all he could hear was Hawkmoth’s voice telling him to get the Miraculous -- Ladybug’s earrings and Chat Noir’s ring. That shouldn’t be too hard.

_ Invisible Ink, or Justin Extra, creates a barrier around himself, keeping Ladybug and Chat Noir at bay. _ He wrote quickly, as a preventative measure, and sure enough, a translucent barrier appeared around him like a ball. When Chat Noir charged towards it, he hit it as though he’d hit a brick wall. Ladybug took a less reckless approach, looking as if she was trying to find a way through it. She wouldn’t find one, Invisible Ink was sure of that.

“What did you just do?” Invisible Ink was startled by the voice, and turned to find Nathanael in the bubble as well. That hadn’t exactly been the plan. Maybe he’d just been too close?

“I’m buying time. I don’t want Ladybug and Chat Noir getting in here. They’ll ruin everything,” Invisible Ink said, looking back to Ladybug and Chat Noir, who seemed to be talking to each other about how to get through the bubble. Or about Nathanael, who was in the bubble. Honestly, it really wasn’t Nathanael that they needed to worry about.

If only he could figure out their real names. Then he’d be able to get their Miraculouses without a problem. Of course, things could never be that easy. He’d have to figure out some other way. Maybe if he wrote other people taking the Miraculous?

He was so lost in thought, that he didn’t notice Nathanael coming closer and snatching the notebook from him. Invisible Ink was quick to stop him, but Nathanael already had a grip on some of the pages, including the page that he had just been writing on.

It was with a sickening rip that the pages came out, and Invisible Ink felt betrayed once again -- this time by just about the only person that he thought he could trust, the only person who still had the ability to hurt and betray him. Invisible Ink stared at the ripped pages for half a second as the bubble began disappearing, and with a heartbroken ‘why,’ he began frantically scribbling.

_ Nathanael Beaulieu stalls Ladybug and Chat Noir, and tries to get their Miraculous. If he succeeds, he will deliver them to me at the Louvre. _

With the final period, the bubble was gone, as was Invisible Ink. If Ladybug and Chat Noir got a hold of his notebook the same way that Nathanael had, he’d be finished. Everything would be even more ruined than it already was.

Honestly, what else did he have to lose? Everyone he had cared about ended up turning on him: Penelope, Étienne, Nathanael. At least Hawkmoth would appreciate him if he got the Miraculouses for him. If he really needed to, Invisible Ink would resort to physical fighting. Maybe it would work, for once.

As he waited for Nathanael, Ladybug, or Chat Noir at the Louvre, Invisible Ink did not write any more. He merely mourned the loss of the pages that would never be in their proper places in the same way ever again. How many more times would it have to be defaced? How long until he would find out whether or not Nathanael had gotten the Miraculous or not?

He waited what felt like an eternity, but when Invisible Ink finally saw Nathanael, he had Ladybug and Chat Noir with him. The hurt of betrayal stung anew, and Invisible Ink couldn’t help but shout, “ _ Traitor!” _

_ Nathanael Beaulieu is frozen in place. He will not he _

Before he could finish writing, he heard Ladybug call “Lucky charm,” something indistinct from Chat Noir, and Nathanael’s voice saying something else. He tried to ignore it, but his writing faltered for a few seconds.

_ lp Ladybug and Chat Noir any further. _

Invisible Ink looked around frantically, trying to find someone else in the vicinity that he could control, or  _ something _ , but Ladybug and Chat Noir had the upper hand. Ladybug,  _ somehow _ , had a boom box, which she started playing at full volume. When had she gotten that? And why did it have to be so damn  _ loud? _

The distraction was enough to throw him off, and Chat Noir snatched the notebook away, even as Invisible Ink tried to grab it back. Chat Noir threw the book to Ladybug, the bookmark fluttering out as it flew. Ladybug, likely thinking that the notebook held the akuma, ripped it in half, expecting the evil butterfly to fly out.

It didn’t.

The only effect was Invisible Ink feeling shattered once again, and charging at Ladybug in rage. He had quite literally  _ nothing _ left to lose. He’d thought that he didn’t before, but now especially. There was nothing left to do but try to fulfil his end of the deal with Hawkmoth, and maybe keep importance to  _ someone _ .

He was stopped in his tracks by Chat Noir’s staff tripping him. In that moment, Invisible Ink gave up. He’d lost his notebook, the most important object in his life, his trust in the people he’d cared about most, and now he couldn’t even get simple objects. It was clearly over.

Distantly, he heard a paper rip -- which must have been the bookmark -- and Ladybug’s voice once again, and then…

Then he woke up.

**Author's Note:**

> Please share the love in this fic. Get your friends in on this shit. Let's make this a thing people


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